Buckles are used to secure many items including clothing, seatbelts and rucksacks. Many types of buckles are known in the art. Buckles used in conjunction with rucksacks may be used to secure skis or ski poles, tents, articles of bedding or any other necessity to the rucksack, or to hold sections of the rucksack closed. It is desirable that buckles used for these purposes may be locked securely in place. It is often necessary to be able to fasten and unfasten buckles used in this regard in weather conditions that necessitate the wearing of mittens or other clothing that might impede the user's manual dexterity, and so it is also desirable that buckles be easily fastened and unfastened.
An example of a buckle is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,285,714, which shows a buckle construction which may be attached to a strap or straps without sewing and which permits adjustment of the length of the strap without sliding of the buckle. A particular disadvantage of this type of buckle is that there is no means of securing the strap in place, and to prevent it slipping out of the tape passage. Also, the buckle construction is such that considerable dexterity is necessary in order to fasten and unfasten the buckle.
Another example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,212,862, which shows a buckle that may be attached to garment or strap. The buckle has two connecting means, one of a permanent nature and the other of a transitional nature. The buckle comprises a main body and at least one arm that forms a slot through which the strap may be passed. A particular disadvantage of this buckle is that while some of the various embodiments may be used with a captive loop of webbing or strapping, it does not allow for the captive loop of webbing or strapping to be secured in place.
Another buckle is shown in EP0465033-A. This buckle is intended to be easy to adjust and connect quickly. However the construction of this buckle does not allow for a captive loop of webbing to be secured in place, as the buckle may be shaken loose from the loop. Neither does it allow for easy fastening and unfastening while the user is wearing mittens or gloves.
There is therefore a need to provide a buckle which can be used with a captive loop of webbing, and which can secure the captive loop of webbing in place. There is also a need to provide a buckle for use with rucksacks, which may be easily fastened and unfastened, even while the user is wearing mittens or gloves, since the weather conditions encountered by the user while using the rucksack will often make such clothing necessary.